CHC30113: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets out the basic rights of children and the obligations: Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care Assignment, TAFE NSW, Australia

Subject 3: Workplace Effectiveness

KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT

1. In the spaces provided, write T if the given statement is true and F if it is false.

a. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) sets out the basic rights of children and the obligations of governments to fulfill those rights.

b. By law, children must be allowed time to play because it helps develop a wide range of skills, like problem-solving and working with a group.

c. One of the four fundamental principles of the CRC is to make sure children get high marks in school.

d. The National Quality Standards is one of the components of the National Legislative Framework.

e. At school, nobody else is responsible for the protection of the children other than their classroom teachers.

f. Children must not be verbally abused by educators or staff members of an education and care service facility when they misbehave.

g. Staff members who are not teachers in education and care facilities are not covered by Education and Care Services National Regulations’ Regulation 84.

h. It is the right of the child to have their opinions taken into account when making decisions.

i. It is important that children with disabilities are separated from other children early on, so that they will learn to cope with how harshly the community will treat them when they are older.

j. It is important to teach children to be welcoming of other children who come from different cultures and ethnicities.

k. Breaching the stipulations of the CRC, the National Legislative Framework, Education and Care Services National Regulations, and other pieces of legislation regarding children’s education and care services may have legal implications for the offender.

l. Sometimes, ethical issues are legal issues as well. Hence, breaching certain codes of ethics may have legal implications for the offender.

m. Staff of all Education and Care facilities in Australia is required to be aware of and understand the principles contained in the ECA Code of Ethics.

n. One of the rights of children, according to the CRC, is that they must be able to relax, play and meet with other groups of children, as long as this does not harm others or stop others from enjoying their rights.

2. There are several different frameworks that guide your conduct as an early childhood educator and carer. Answer the following questions about early childhood education frameworks.

a. Where must copies of Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care (FSAC) be located, to be accessible to educators? Select one (1).
Educators can only access copies online Copies must be located at the center Educators must be given their own copy by the center

b. All states/territories except Victoria now follow the EYLF and the FASC. What is the name of the framework implemented in Victoria? Write the full name below:

c. Children and families are stakeholders in the development of policies and procedures in an education and care center. True or false?

d. In each state, a Regulatory Authority will be responsible for administering the National Quality Framework, including approving, monitoring, and quality assessing services. Identify the State or Territory Regulator in your current location:

3. List three (3) pieces of legislation that provide favorable employment conditions for your role as an Early Childhood Educator.

4. Identify whether or not the given scenarios are dynamics of abuse. If they are, indicate if these are abuse to age, gender, disability, culture, or sexuality

a. Maria is four years old. Her aunt often reminds her that if she tells anyone that her aunt is secretly taking items from their house, she will “get into a lot of trouble.” Maria believes her aunt and will lie to her mother when asked where the missing items are.

b. Joshua is six years old. He loves eating sweets like chocolates and candy, and he often tries to escape doing homework. In effect, his mum has stopped buying him sweets, and only allows him to play games and watch television after he has finished doing all his homework. Joshua is upset by this.

c. Jae Han is seven years old. His family just moved to Australia from Korea. He does not speak very much English, so his classmates are teaching him the English words for some school items.

d. Paul is a wheelchair-bound child. He is a kind boy, so the community treats him kindly as well. Despite being a sickly child, Paul’s father insists on bringing him out on errands even if he is not feeling well so that he can use the handicapped parking at different establishments.

e. Alyssa is a seven-year-old girl. Her mother is a very figure-conscious woman who was popular among the boys in her class during her younger years. Whenever Alyssa wants to eat sweets for snacks and dessert, her mother would often make comments like, “Don’t eat too much. You’ll get fat and not have a boyfriend when you’re older” or “Boys only like slim girls.” This scares Alyssa and compels her not to eat sweets.

f. George is being raised by their parents to be vegan. At some parties, the hosts find it a hassle to prepare vegan-friendly food for George, but the children enjoy his company. To remedy this, the parents of his friends simply tell George that the foods they serve are vegan because no meat is in them, despite having animal products like butter and milk. They tell him that it only counts if it’s actual meat.

5. Identify two (2) pieces of child protection legislation that apply to your cur State or Territory

Ahmet Gadai

Ahmet Gadai is 3 years old and is one of the Sparkling Stars’ newest attendees along with his sisters A’shadieeyah, age 5, and Rawhiyah, age 7. He is the youngest child and only son of a Muslim family that has recently immigrated to Australia.

With English being the family’s second language, you have found this has led to communication issues and Ahmet eventually demonstrating some frustrating behavior in response. You have also noticed that when the father is communicating with any of the women at the center, he is very domineering and aggressive in his approach to any discussion regarding Ahmet’s behavior. To you, the father seems to favor Ahmet over his two older sisters, as you have noticed he will scold the girls publicly in their mother language but does not act in the same manner towards Ahmet.

One day, one of your colleagues referred to Ahmet as a ‘little terrorist’.  Initially, you thought it was just an inappropriate joke; but over a few weeks, you heard your colleague say it several more times and noticed that she tended to leave Ahmet out of class activities where Ahmet might cause trouble.

You know there is an ethical issue to be dealt with but are not sure how to proceed.

a. Identify two (2) conflicts of interest that exist in the scenario. Check the boxes of the correct answer.

i. Ahmet’s father should show more respect towards women, but he does not want to.

ii. Ahmet is not included in-class activities so that the educator will not have to think about accommodating his needs.

iii. Your colleagues are making jokes about Ahmet, so Ahmet should probably learn more English to prove them wrong.

iv. Ahmet’s sisters should speak up for themselves, but they are too shy.

v. Your colleague’s inappropriate actions towards Ahmet must be addressed, but you hesitate to do so, for fear of losing them as friends.

b. Describe three (3) considerations – internal and external – that might influence your own ethical judgement in Ahmet’s situation.

c. Your personal values and attitudes are some of the considerations that may influence your ethical judgment when dealing with ethical issues.

Identify one (1) personal value and one (1) attitude, and describe how these may influence the actions that you would take in the above scenario.

d. How would you take into account these personal values and attitudes you identified in the previous question to ensure non-judgmental practice?

e. Why is it essential that you address this unethical behaviour? Select three (3) reasons.

i. The child is experiencing cultural abuse. It is in the student’s best interest to resolve the issue.

ii. Speaking out about my colleagues’ unethical behaviour will get them fired, which they deserve.

iii. As part of my duty of care, it is my responsibility to take appropriate action against unethical practices.

iv. My colleagues should not have spoken too loudly.

v. It is your right, as an educator, to expose the wrong behavior of others to children so that they would not follow this bad example.

vi. It is part of the Early Childhood Code of Ethics that I must work to ensure children are not discriminated against on the basis of their culture.

f. Identify how you will appropriately resolve the situation of your colleague’s unethical behavior. Write the numbers 1 to 3 on the steps that you should follow, in order, to address the situation.

Other steps that are not appropriate measures should be left blank.

i. If the behavior of another staff member is interfering with your work, then advise that person of the problem directly and try to work out a mutual resolution.

ii. If the problem remains unresolved, approach the Director for advice.

iii. If the problem remains unresolved, call the police.

iv. If the dispute is of an extremely sensitive nature or involves the Director, contact the parents of the child.

v. If the dispute is of an extremely sensitive nature or involves the Director, contact senior management.

g. A few weeks later, Ahmet’s father approaches you, very upset about what has been said to his son. He wants to make a complaint about your colleague. What protocol should you follow to manage his complaint? Select one (1).

i. Explain to him that he has no right to complain because his behavior towards his daughters is unethical, to begin with.

ii. Refer to the organizational policies and procedures for handling complaints from parents.

iii. Refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

iv. Bring to his attention that a complaint can be filed against him for unethical behavior.

v. Speak to him so you can resolve the issue for your colleague

h. Answer the following questions concerning the Sparkling Stars policies and procedures for handling complaints from parents.

i. In case of conflict between a parent and a staff member, the parent should first, discuss the problem with the relevant staff member concerned.

ii. If the parent is not satisfied with the outcome after speaking with the relevant staff member, they may take the matter to the Centre Director.

iii. The Director will make the final decision in all conflicts.

iv. Disputes and conflicts at the center may be avoided if… (Select one (1).)

the staff follows the policy “The customer is always right.”

parents are prohibited from speaking to the staff beyond class hours.

clear guidelines are in place for all to follow.

Erica Smith

It is school holidays, and the usual group of local children is attending care. One of the children, Erica Smith, is 10 years old and you have known her since she started attending the center 5 years ago. You can view here: Erica’s client records.

These holidays you have noticed that Erica is not her usual bubbly self. She has come to the center a few times in the same dirty clothes she wore the day before. One day you heard her ask a friend for some food at lunchtime.

One day, when you took the group swimming, Erica did not have her swimming costume with her. When you asked her about it, she responded “My Dad says I’m too fat to swim”.

The next morning when Erica arrived at the center with her father, her eyes were red and puffy. You thought she looked like she had been crying. That same morning, you noticed what might have been some bruises on Erica’s
upper arms when she was playing in the home corner.

Later that day, as you were preparing afternoon tea, Erica approached you shyly, speaking very quietly. You bend down to hear her better and she says “My dad hurt me.

a. Record a short video, in which you must demonstrate your response to Erica. Follow these instructions:

i. Ask a friend to act as Erica in this scenario.

ii. Set up a camera to record you and ‘Erica’ acting out the scenario.

iii. Begin the video recording with ‘Erica’ telling you “My Dad hurt me”.

iv. Respond to ‘Erica’ as if you were responding to an actual child at a childcare center.

a. Ask open and non-leading questions that would help you identify in what way Erica was hurt.

v. Save the file as “CHC30113-Subject3-CaseStudy2.” Use a file format that is compatible with most computers, such as .mp4.

vi. Submit the video file to your assessor as part of your assessment.

vii. There is no minimum time limit, but your video must not be more than three (3) minutes in length.

Note: If a video recording is not possible, an audio recording is also acceptable. If you opt for an audio recording, follow these additional guidelines:

viii. The tone of voice in your response must be appropriate.

ix. The dialogue must mention the environment or location where your conversation with Erica takes place.

x. Use a file format that is compatible with most computers, such as .mp3.